8.11.2013

Bo's First Week

As of today, Bo has been with us for one week. And what a week it's been! Everything is new. Everything is startling. Everything is worth licking to see if it tastes good.

She watched TV for the first time and found it puzzling. That's her standing directly in front of the TV.

We heard that greyhounds will stare at themselves in the mirror for long periods of time. Bo doesn't just stare - she thinks there's another dog, and it's the only time she seems remotely excited. The other night she was standing in the kitchen, making a soft growing sound and looking intently near the oven. John and I both panicked, thinking she saw a mouse (something I always dread but that's never happened). Then we realized she was looking at her reflection in the oven door. Sigh.

We've met up with another greyhound family in town for a joint walk and she seemed ok with that. Based on her reaction to her reflection, I thought she'd be stoked, but she was just relaxed.

She's taken to the car well, since the car usually means a trip to the park. Even when we took her to the vet for an initial visit, we sandwiched the vet with walks in the park and a trip to PetSmart.

Thankfully, she doesn't seem to mind strangers asking to pet her, or other dogs, big or small.

We also went to Gibbons Park, where she walked into the river like was nothing at all. I'm so happy she likes the water! And now I CANNOT WAIT to take her to Lake Huron! It's nice and shallow there so I think she'll like it.

The first few days, she basically refused to eat. The vet suggested some wet food to mix with her food and she's been snarfing that up, so I think we're in the clear food-wise. She also LOVES a Kong frozen with pumpkin inside, baked sweet potatoes, and peanut butter...All foods I also enjoy. The Kong makes a great treat delivery device, and it keeps her occupied, so we love it, too.

Every day brings a new, small success that shows us she really does have a personality, and that she's gradually coming out of her shell. It's hard to imagine, but she likely spent an average of 20 hours per day in a crate with little interaction, and without a ton of affection. From her behavior and her willingness to be handled, we don't think she was abused. Just left alone a lot. She's started to behave like other greys we've heard of, in that she's started to "steal" things. For instance: in this picture, she's laying on top of an old SEM conference bag. She took it from the handle of the front door and brought it back to her living room cushion. She doesn't shred it, doesn't chew on it or destroy it. Just likes to take it. It's like she's going to build a nest out of soft, found items.

Today she also exhibited a little more normal dog behavior: she retrieved her mole toy (bottom right of the photo above). Greyhounds aren't big into fetch, as a rule, but she actually played fetch with me for a few minutes before getting too confused. Fetch with Bo isn't like fetch with a retriever or terrier. John says it's more like fetch with an old man - she walks so slowly it's almost like she's ashamed. We've read that this is typical of greyhounds, since they aren't raised with a concept of "play."

Lots of things still freak her out, like cars, any kind of sharp sound like a hammer on a neighbor's roof, or my pitch pipe. It's sort of like we adopted an alien, or a robot dog whose mind was wiped. John says it's like she was in solitary confinement and now she's forced to be around people again - an apt analogy, since she was alone a lot, and we've been watching Orange is the New Black. But still, every day she lets us see a new part of her, and she lets us know a little bit more that she's cool with us.